Carry On Teacher (1959)

That was an excellent one.

Memorable, crazy movie

Excellent, a Must See

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

The Carry On series started quite well with the Sergeant, Teacher and Nurse titles. They were not great art but they were funny for their times. The performances were fresh and fairly original though they were to become caricatures of themselves in later films and a lot less funny. The scripts were quite well written and there were stories and plots which were sadly lacking in the films that followed. I have just watched Carry on Teacher on TV as an exercise in nostalgia and have to say have enjoyed it again. I just cannot watch the later Sid James, Jim Dale and Barbara Windsor ones-I find them crass and crude in the extreme. It would be a tragedy if the British film industry were judged on the whole Carry On series as they became a watchword for smut and innuendo - nothing wrong with innuendo if it is done well but the Carry On's generally did not do it well - mind you they were incredibly successful.

I enjoyed the first two entries more than this one. The third go around has the Carry On crew teaching at a school. They are headed by Kenneth Conner, Kenneth Williams, Hattie Jacques, Joan Sims and Charles Hawtrey. To me, no one stands out in this film like the first two films. Sims character is named "Alcock" which is a little shocking. Couldn't they pick a more decent name for her. Two psychiatrists visit the school to see how well it is being run by the faculty. The man is instantly attracted to Joan Sims when he sees her. I have always had a problem with Joan Sims and Barbara Windsor playing a sexy role. They are not sexy to me at all, and they do not have great shapes, even for the 60's and 70's. I really do like Joan Sims as an actress, but not as a sex symbol. There was a little to much sexual innuendo from the children which I did not care for. I know that is what Carry On became later on, but there is a fine line and I think it was crossed in this entry. It did have a very touching ending like the first one did. The kids sabotage the play in an effort to get the headmaster to stay at the school. He decides to stay in the final scene. Overall it is a slightly above average movie, with a nice ending. Thankfully Sid James would appear in 14 out of the next 19 films. He really gives the films a spark.

Can you imagine students that love their headmaster (principal) so much that they try to sabotage his leaving by playing practical jokes when a district(?) team is visiting the school? That's the premise of this, one of the early Carry On films.I can certainly imagine the reaction of the visiting psychiatrist played by Leslie Phillips (Venus) when he saw Miss Allcock played by Joan Sims (The Last of the Blonde Bombshells). I had the same reaction in Walmart yesterday when some young miss in short shorts and a tight Tee walked by a couple of times.Full of the usual Carry On stars and some guests, it is typical British humor at it's finest.

I particularly like this carry On, because it looks at something ordinary and makes it funny. Every child goes to school and you get some that play jokes on the teachers and make life a nuisance. Gerald Thomas and Peter Rogers along with Norman Hudis, scriptwriter of this carry on film have picked up on this and turned it into a comedy carry on film.As usual there is the carry On established cast: Kenneth Williams, Kenneth Connor, Hattie Jacques, Joan Sims and Chalres Hawtrey. They are joined by the marvellous Ted Ray, Rosalind Knight and Leslie Phillips. The children are played by the marvellous Richard O Sullivan who is now residing in a retirement home for actors due to illness, Larry Dann who went on to play sergeant Alec Peters in the Bill on ITV1 and Diane Langton who was uncredited.The film is set in Mauldin Street school, a child psychiatrist has been granted permission to do some research for an upcoming book, he is accompanied by the school inspector Felictiy Wheeler (Knight), they are shown the Maudlin Street hospitality NOT when Stevens (Sullivan) discovers Mr Wakesfield acting Headmaster (Ted ray) is planning to leave the school. They play lots of funny stunts in order for him to stay, find out what happens in this hilarious carry on.